Rocketmen: Axis of Evil Hands-on

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Encounter strange, exotic creatures--and kill them.

By David Craddock

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil has quite a few things going for it. It features detailed, cartoon-like graphics; witty dialogue; and Martians. But, at its core, Rocketmen's main attraction is guns--lots of guns. Whether gamers prefer shotguns or lasers, rocket launchers or mines, Rocketmen has weapons for everyone. Even better, they're all fun to use.

Rocketmen follows the exploits of Rocketman, a hero customized by the player at the game's start. Characteristics such as gender, apparel and hair color, as well as race--does the Rocketman hail from Mars, Venus, or Earth? Race dictates proficiency in attributes such as health and defense, while class types -- warrior, outcast, and engineer -- affect strength and engineering. The character models themselves look great, though they're somewhat wasted in-game, as the action is from a birds-eye view, which means players won't get to see the minute details they painstakingly configured for their avatar.

Cutscenes are displayed via comic book panels, each of which features colorful detail and excellent humor. Average voice-acting accompanies each shot, which is all Rocketmen needs; storytelling takes a backseat to frantic shooting in this game, and that's the way it should be. The levels themselves are very well done: backdrops such as glass floors that reveal machinery far below the ship's deck; obstacles that players can use for cover, or in some cases, to detonate when enemies come too close for comfort; and intricate machines that birth limitless swarms of cyborgs until said machines are destroyed.

In order to destroy the aforementioned infinite stream of robots, in addition to lots of other enemy types, players will have to upgrade their Rocketmen characters. To accomplish this, players must first shoot stuff, collect elements that enemies drop, spend those elements, as well as experience points, on stat upgrades--then just rinse and repeat. Experience points can be spent on core stat upgrades. Speed helps characters move faster, which is a necessity, as the screen is literally filled with enemies most of the time; backpedal firing is sometimes the only way to avoid the dozens of enemy rounds streaming at Rocketman. Upgrading the Weapon statistic enables the player's default gun to fire faster and do a bit more damage.

Speaking of the default gun, it's pretty terrible, given that it's nothing but a tiny laser pistol. Luckily, Rocketman has access to more firepower than Neo and Trinity were given in the original Matrix. The Razor gun fires jagged blades at a rapid speed that can bounce off of walls and other terrain elements, making this weapon ideal for rapidly cleaning out rooms. Also adept at sweeping enemies away is the shotgun, which has a wide spread yet slow rate of fire. Fortunately, the Razor, shotgun, and all other weapons--even secondary items, such as mines and rockets--can be upgraded for better performance. Favoring the shotgun, I upgraded its spread several times, which allowed me to discharge five rounds at once (and that's not the maximum). Since its rate of fire is so slow, I also upgraded its Rate, so that I pumped rounds without abandon, clearing screens in less than a handful of seconds.

Simply upgrading items will not make the game any easier. Secondary items such as turrets are finite in quantity, and primary items like the rapid-fire laser have a time duration tagged to them. This means that, in areas containing lots of weapon drops, players will need to choose when to pick up primary weapons (secondary weapons can be used until the player's supply is emptied). Additionally, item drops only exist for a short span of time, which means players might have to grab them before they're ready. Rounding out Rocketmen's small bit of strategy is the limitation of being able to hold only one primary gun at a time.

Players will be happy to know that all their time upgrading their single-player characters will not go to waste: All characters can be used online and off. Local games are of course an option, but taking created Rocketmen online gives players an excellent opportunity to show off their customization selections. Any level already beaten by the game host is playable, and players can customize and save their characters before and after each level.

Dethroning the Axis of Evil thus far has been quite a bit of fun. The ability to take characters online, coupled with the ability to continually upgrade players' aesthetics and weaponry gives Rocketmen a great deal of replay value. Look for this one later this year.